Discount grocer Aldi has reported “remarkable growth” in market share as shoppers continue to spend cautiously, new data released today revealed.
Latest grocery share figures from Kantar Worldpanel found that Aldi‘s market share surged 30.8 per cent in the 12 weeks to March 17th 2013, while upmarket grocer Waitrose posted 12.5 per cent growth as market polarisation continued.
Waitrose, which last week poached online grocer Ocado‘s senior e-commerce executive Tony Rivenell as its new Head of Omnichannel Delivery, saw market share rise 12.5 per cent thanks to its lack of involvement in the ongoing horsemeat scandal, while rival Sainsbury‘s followed suit.
Dubbing Sainsbury‘s “the clear winner” of the big four over the period, Kantar‘s Retail Analyst Fraser McKevitt said: “Sainsbury‘s year-on-year growth of 6.2 per cent firmly beats the total market growth of 3.9.
“Since 2004, its annual share has been on a rising trend and now stands at 16.8 per cent for the 52 weeks ending 17 March.
“Austerity and provenance are the key factors behind the varying retailer performances this month.
“Continued pressure on household budgets has helped Aldi, Lidl and Iceland to record market beating growths while Waitrose and Sainsbury‘s have managed to mostly avoid adverse media coverage from the horsemeat scandal.”
Meanwhile, Asda maintained its record share of 17.9 per cent which it first achieved a year ago though competitors Tesco and Morrisons reported decreases over the period.
Although Tesco reported growth of 1.1 per cent, its overall grocery market share slipped 0.8 per cent to 29.4 per cent compared with the same period last year while Morrison‘s growth fell one per cent.
“Looking ahead,Tesco has responded with its Price Promise promotion which delivers coupons to shoppers at the tills and Morrisons has announced plans to plug its home-delivery gap during 2013,” explained McKevitt.
“These strategies are expected to help boost the retailers‘ performances going forward.”
